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52-650: The White Cliffs Countryside Partnership was established in 1989, to help landowners care for the special coast and countryside of Dover and Folkestone and Hythe districts. This includes the only two stretches of Heritage Coast in Kent; the Dover-Folkestone Heritage Coast and the South Foreland Heritage Coast between Dover and Kingsdown near Deal . The WCCP was launched with 3 staff funded by seven organisations for

104-779: A devolved matter, so each of the countries of the United Kingdom has its own policies and arrangements for them. The national parks of Scotland and those of England and Wales are governed by separate laws: the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000 in Scotland and the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 for England and Wales. The Environment Act 1995 defines the role of national parks in England and Wales as being: The Broads differs from

156-486: A limited three-year period. The WCCP has since grown into a much larger organisation with thirteen staff (although many work part-time including footpath leaders). The WCCP celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2009. In 1992/93, it was estimated that the project (and community groups) contributed to 3450 days of conservation and footpath management work. This was worked out to have cost around £170,000 or 14 local authority staff wages. In October 2010, volunteers from WCCP, and

208-527: A little more restrictive than elsewhere. Within the United Kingdom there are fifteen national parks of which ten are in England, three in Wales , two in Scotland , and none in Northern Ireland. An estimated 110 million people visit the national parks of England and Wales each year. Recreation and tourism bring visitors and funds into the parks, to sustain their conservation efforts, and support

260-462: A national park in the 1970s but the proposal was thought to be administratively too difficult because the area was administered by five different county councils . The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads was designated through its own Act of Parliament in 1988 , gaining status equivalent to that of a national park. The Broads in East Anglia are not in the strictest sense a national park, being run by

312-447: A number of problems. The national funding offered to national park authorities is partly in recognition of the extra difficulties created in dealing with these conflicts. The United Kingdom has a number of other designated landscape areas besides its national parks. Most similar to the parks are Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty which differ in part because of their more limited opportunities for extensive outdoor recreation. Dartmoor,

364-418: A separately constituted Broads Authority set up by a special Act of Parliament in 1988 and with a structure in which conservation is subordinate to navigational concerns (see Sandford Principle below), but it is generally regarded as being "equivalent to" a national park. Separate legislation was passed in Scotland, namely the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000 , and from this two Scottish national parks,

416-456: Is complex, but the full cost of each park authority is funded from central government funds. In the past this was partly paid for by local authorities and refunded to them from the government to varying degrees. In 2003/2004 the park authorities received around £35.5 million of central government funding. The UK's national parks are members of National Parks UK, which works to promote them, and to facilitate training and development for staff of all

468-555: Is designated under this Act, and must be confirmed by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs . The 1949 Act came about after a prolonged campaign for public access to the countryside in the United Kingdom with its roots in the Industrial Revolution. The first 'freedom to roam' bill was introduced to Parliament in 1884 by James Bryce but it was not until 1931 that a government inquiry recommended

520-401: Is merit in variety and with the wide diversity of landscape which is available in England and Wales, it would be wrong to confine the selection of National Parks to the more rugged areas of mountain and moorland, and to exclude other districts which, though of less outstanding grandeur and wildness, have their own distinctive beauty and a high recreational value. The National Parks and Access to

572-614: Is no national park in the southern Midlands . The Cairngorms National Park , at 4,528 km (1,748 sq mi), is the largest of the national parks. Outside the Scottish Highlands the largest is the Lake District National Park , which, at 2,292 square kilometres (885 sq mi), is the largest National Park in England and the second largest in the United Kingdom. Snowdonia National Park , at 2,142 square kilometres (827 sq mi),

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624-432: Is the largest national park in Wales and the fourth largest in the United Kingdom. The smallest national park in England and Wales, and in the United Kingdom, is The Broads , at 303 square kilometres (117 sq mi). The total area of the national parks in England and Wales is about 16,267 square kilometres (6,281 sq mi), for an average of 1,251 square kilometres but a median of 1,344 square kilometres. In

676-657: The Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and The Trossachs , were created. The New Forest , which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and old-growth forest in the heavily populated south east of England, was designated as a national park on 1 March 2005. On 31 March 2009 it was announced that the South Downs would be designated a national park; the South Downs National Park came into effect on 31 March 2010. Of

728-605: The Environment Agency . The national park authorities and the Broads Authority are covered by regulations similar to those that apply to local councils. The national park authority for each park addresses the stated aim in partnership with other organisations, such as the National Trust . In cases where there may be conflict between the two purposes of designation, the first (to conserve and enhance

780-546: The Lake District were governed by county councils . The Peak District and the Lake District , the first two national parks to be designated, were under the control of planning boards that were independent of county councils. Similar national park authorities have also been established for the Scottish parks under separate legislation. Slightly over half the members of each national park authority are appointees from

832-518: The Mourne Mountains . If established, it would stretch from Carlingford Lough to Newcastle and Slieve Croob . National park authorities are the strategic and local planning authorities for their areas, so that the local district or unitary councils do not exercise planning control in an area covered by a national park. Consequently, they have to perform all the duties of a local planning authority . They are responsible for maintaining

884-522: The Stone Age , at least 5,000 years ago and in some cases much earlier. Before the 19th century relatively wild, remote areas were often seen simply as uncivilised and dangerous. In 1725 Daniel Defoe described the High Peak as "the most desolate, wild and abandoned country in all England". However, by the early 19th century, romantic poets such as Byron , Coleridge and Wordsworth wrote about

936-653: The cities was also considered important. The Peak District , site of the Kinder Scout trespass, was designated the first national park in April 1951 under the Clement Attlee led Labour administration . This was followed in the same year by the designations of three more national parks; the Lake District, Snowdonia and Dartmoor. By the end of the decade the national park family had increased to ten with

988-519: The local development framework — the spatial planning guide for their area. They also grant planning consent for development, within the constraints of the Framework. This gives them very strong direct control over residential and industrial development, and the design of buildings and other structures; as well as strategic matters such as mineral extraction. The national park authorities' planning powers vary only slightly from other authorities, but

1040-536: The Countryside Act 1949 was passed with all party support. The first ten national parks were designated as such in the 1950s under the Act in mostly poor-quality agricultural upland . Much of the land was still owned by individual landowners, often private estates, but there was also property owned by public bodies such as the Crown , or charities which allow and encourage access such as the National Trust . Accessibility from

1092-539: The Countryside Act 1949 . The idea for a form of national parks was first proposed in the United States in the 1860s, where national parks were established to protect wilderness areas such as Yosemite . This model has been used in many other countries since, but not in the United Kingdom. After thousands of years of human integration into the landscape, Britain lacks any substantial areas of wilderness. Furthermore, those areas of natural beauty so cherished by

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1144-650: The Downs Landscape Partnership (Landscape Conservation of Dover), Pent Valley Technology College , National Farmers' Union , Canterbury Archaeological Trust , Kent Police , Aylesham Parish Council, Hawkinge Town Council, St Margaret's at Cliffe Parish Council, Walmer Parish Council and Whitfield Parish Council. Samphire Hoe Country Park , River Dour, Kent , East Cliff and Warren Country Park , The Undercliff , Cheriton Hill , Folkestone Downs and Miner's Way Trail They also produce many leaflets and guides for various local walks about

1196-805: The English and Welsh national parks that were originally proposed, two remain undesignated: the Cambrian Mountains and Cornish Coast. Of the twelve national parks in England and Wales, four are in the North of England, two in the Southwest, one in the North Midlands, two (the most recently designated) in the South and three in Wales. They cover 10.7 per cent of England and 19.9 per cent of Wales. They touch only sixteen English counties and there

1248-600: The English coast from Northumberland: Heritage coasts listed clockwise around Welsh coast from southeast: National parks of England and Wales National parks of the United Kingdom ( Welsh : parciau cenedlaethol ; Scottish Gaelic : pàircean nàiseanta ) are 15 areas of relatively undeveloped and scenic landscape across the country. Despite their name, they are quite different from national parks in many other countries, which are usually owned and managed by governments as protected community resources, and which do not usually include permanent human communities. In

1300-882: The Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership went across the Channel to work with counterpart volunteers in France. As part of the 'Landscape and Nature for All' project, funded by the European Regional Development Fund . Then in November, the French volunteers came to the UK to help. In 2012, Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) awarded the project with £1.64m, which they added to with funding of £800,000 from local partners. In 2013,

1352-791: The Lake District, North York Moors and the Yorkshire Dales all abut AONBs and in addition the coasts of Exmoor and the North York Moors coincide with heritage coasts . All the Parks contain in varying numbers Sites of Special Scientific Interest and national nature reserves . A part of the Brecon Beacons National Park is also designated as one of the UNESCO Global Geoparks . Of the various World Heritage Sites in England and Wales , one –

1404-497: The Peak District National Park the estimate in 2004 for visitor spending is £185 million, which supports over 3,400 jobs, representing 27% of total employment in the national park. The national park authorities have two roles: to conserve and enhance the park, and to promote its use by visitors. These two objectives cause frequent conflicts between the needs of different groups of people. It is estimated that

1456-577: The Pembrokeshire Coast, North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales, Exmoor, Northumberland and Brecon Beacons national parks all being designated. Other areas were also considered: for example, parts of the coast of Cornwall were considered as a possible national park in the 1950s but were thought to be too disparate to form a single coherent national park and were eventually designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) instead. The north Pennines were also considered for designation as

1508-536: The United Kingdom the total increases to 22,660 square kilometres (average 1511 km ). The most-visited national park is the Lake District, with 15.8 million visitors in 2009, although by visitor days the South Downs at 39 million compares to 23.1 million for the Lake District. There are currently no national parks in Northern Ireland though there have been controversial moves to establish one in

1560-463: The United Kingdom, an area designated as a national park may include substantial settlements and human land uses that are often integral parts of the landscape. Land within national parks remains largely in private ownership. These parks are therefore not "national parks" according to the internationally accepted standard of the IUCN but they are areas of outstanding landscape where planning controls are

1612-490: The WCCP was being funded by more than 23 organisations. We carry out long term management of land that has a high value for wildlife and landscape, making it accessible to everyone. Indeed, many of the sites managed by WCCP are on a national or even international level of importance for wildlife. It was decided to change the name to "partnership" to reflect the fact that a large number of organisations are working together to improve

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1664-503: The area. Also they arrange volunteers to lead many guided walks throughout the year. Heritage Coast 1,057 km of the English coastline and 495 km of the Welsh coastline, in both cases approximately one-third of the total length, have been defined as heritage coast. The goal is to conserve their natural beauty and improve accessibility for visitors. Unlike national parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs),

1716-423: The cause of public access in the political arena. In 1931 Christopher Addison (later Lord Addison) chaired a government committee that proposed a 'National Park Authority' to choose areas for designation as national parks. A system of national reserves and nature sanctuaries was proposed: (i) to safeguard areas of exceptional natural interest against (a) disorderly development and (b) spoliation; (ii) to improve

1768-491: The coast between Cardiff and St Davids , about 55-60% of Cornwall's coast, and around 60-65% of Devon's coast. This contrasts with the coasts of North West England , where St Bees Head is the only heritage coast, or the south-east stretch of the English Channel which has only very sporadic stretches. The first heritage coast was Beachy Head with its famous white cliffs. Heritage coasts listed clockwise around

1820-542: The creation of a 'National Park Authority' to select areas for designation as national parks. Despite the recommendation and continued lobbying and demonstrations of public discontent, such as the 1932 Kinder Scout mass trespass in the Peak District, nothing further was done until a 1945 white paper on national parks was produced as part of the Labour Party's planned post-war reconstruction, leading in 1949 to

1872-474: The criteria for designating suitable areas: The essential requirements of a National Park are that it should have great natural beauty, a high value for open-air recreation and substantial continuous extent. Further, the distribution of selected areas should as far as practicable be such that at least one of them is quickly accessible from each of the main centres of population in England and Wales . Lastly there

1924-550: The establishment of national parks as part of the post-war reconstruction of the UK. A report by John Dower , secretary of the Standing Committee on National Parks, to the Minister of Town and Country Planning in 1945 was followed in 1947 by a Government committee, this time chaired by Sir Arthur Hobhouse , which prepared legislation for national parks, and proposed twelve national parks. Sir Arthur had this to say on

1976-855: The heritage coast designation is non-statutory, and designations can only be made with the agreement of local authorities and landowners. However, the majority of heritage coast falls within statutorily designated landscapes such as national parks, AONBs and the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site . These coincident designations are listed in the fourth column of the tables below. Designations for nature conservation (as opposed to landscape, e.g. SSSI , Special Area of Conservation and Special Protection Area ) of parts of Heritage Coasts are too numerous and complex to easily list here. The southern coast of Wales and Devon and Cornwall in south west England have more heritage coastline per mile than other regions, including over 50% of

2028-536: The inspirational beauty of the "untamed" countryside. Wordsworth described the English Lake District as a "sort of national property in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy" in 1810. This early vision, based in the Picturesque movement, took over a century, and much controversy, to take legal form in the UK with the National Parks and Access to

2080-759: The local environment. The White Cliffs Countryside Partnership is a partnership between Dover District Council , Folkestone & Hythe District Council , Kent County Council , Eurotunnel , Natural England and many other local organisations with financial contributions from the Heritage Lottery Fund . Also involved in the partnership are Environment Agency , British Energy , Magnox Ltd (formerly Magnox South), Affinity Water , Network Rail , Cemex , Dover Harbour Board , Dover Society (Dover Historic Society), Dungeness Estate, Kent Downs AONB , Kent Wildlife Trust , National Trust , Up on

2132-534: The local population through jobs and businesses. However, these visitors also bring problems, such as erosion and traffic congestion , and conflicts over the use of the parks' resources. Access to cultivated land in England and Wales is restricted to public rights of way and permissive paths . (Under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 there is a right of access for walkers to most but not all uncultivated areas in England and Wales.) National parks are

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2184-479: The means of access for pedestrians to areas of natural beauty; and (iii) to promote measures for the protection of flora and fauna . However, no further action was taken after the intervention of the 1931 General Election . The voluntary Standing Committee on National Parks first met on 26 May 1936 to put the case to the government for national parks in the UK. After World War II, the Labour Party proposed

2236-716: The national parks of England and Wales receive 110 million visitors each year. Most of the time it is possible to achieve both the original two purposes by good management. Occasionally a situation arises where access for the public is in direct conflict with conservation. Following the ethos of the Sandford Principle , the Environment Act 1995 sets down how a priority may be established between conservation and recreational use. Similar provision has been made for Scottish national parks. Although recreation and tourism bring many benefits to an area, they can also bring

2288-523: The natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the National Park) must take precedence under the Sandford Principle . This principle was given statutory force by section 62 of the Environment Act 1995 , although there are no explicit provisions as to how wildlife is to be preserved. The national park authorities also have a duty to foster the economic and social wellbeing of communities in pursuit of these purposes. Funding for national parks

2340-400: The park authorities with a single voice when dealing with government and its agencies. The Campaign for National Parks (formerly Council for National Parks) is a charity that works to protect and enhance the national parks of England and Wales. National parks were first designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 , and in England and Wales any new national park

2392-583: The parks. Natural England is the statutory body responsible for designating new national parks in England, subject to approval by the Secretary of State; Natural Resources Wales designates new national parks in Wales, subject to approval by the Welsh Ministers. All fifteen United Kingdom national parks are represented by the Association of National Park Authorities , which exists to provide

2444-455: The passing of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act . In England and Wales, as in Scotland, designation as a national park means that the area has been identified as being of importance to the national heritage and as such is worthy of special protection and attention. Unlike the model adopted in many other countries, such as the US and Germany, this does not mean the area is owned by

2496-402: The policies and their interpretation are stricter than elsewhere. This is supported and encouraged by the government who regard: Tourism is an important part of the economy of the regions which contain national parks. Through attractions, shops and accommodation, visitors provide an income and a livelihood to local employers and farmers. This income provides jobs for the park. For example, within

2548-579: The principal local authorities covered by the park; the remainder are appointed by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (in England) or the Welsh Ministers (in Wales), some to represent local parish or community councils, others to represent the national interest. The Broads Authority also has members appointed by Natural England , Great Yarmouth Port Authority and

2600-466: The romantic poets were often only maintained and managed in their existing state by human activity, usually agriculture. By the early 1930s increasing public interest in the countryside, coupled with the growing and newly mobile urban population, was generating increasing friction between those seeking access to the countryside and landowners. Alongside of direct action trespasses, such as the mass trespass of Kinder Scout , several voluntary bodies took up

2652-399: The state. National parks in the United Kingdom may include substantial settlements and human land uses which are often integral parts of the landscape, and within a national park there are many landowners including public bodies and private individuals. Archaeological evidence from prehistoric Britain shows that the areas now designated as national parks have been occupied by humans since

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2704-472: The twelve national parks in England & Wales in having a third purpose that carries equal weight, that of: The Scottish national parks have two further statutory purposes: Following the Environment Act 1995 , each English and Welsh national park has been managed by its own national park authority, a special-purpose local authority , since April 1997. Previously, all but the Peak District and

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